General election polls: This is the poll by La Séptima that gives the PSOE the winner, but with the PP and Vox with an absolute majority

After a general election in Spain, the results go through several phases: counting at the polling stations, general scrutiny, proclamation of elected candidates, and possible appeals. The data on election night are provisional: they allow for quick knowledge of the result but do not replace the official declaration of who obtains each seat.

1. Counting at the polling stations and provisional dissemination

At the end of voting, each polling station publicly counts the ballots, examines incidents, and documents the result in the corresponding records. Candidates can file complaints, which must be reflected in the electoral documentation.

During the night, the Administration transmits and aggregates these results to disseminate votes and a provisional distribution of seats. This information does not proclaim deputies or senators and can be corrected later upon verification of the records.

2. General scrutiny and official verification

The next phase corresponds to the Provincial Electoral Boards, responsible for the general scrutiny of elections to the Congress and the Senate. They examine the documentation from the polling stations, verify and aggregate their results, and handle incidents according to electoral legislation.

This is not about automatically repeating the count of all ballots but verifying and consolidating the documented results. The Zone Electoral Boards perform territorial electoral administration functions; the Central Electoral Board supervises the process and resolves appeals and queries within its competence.

3. Appeals and proclamation of elected candidates

Appeals and protests are examined through the channels provided in the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, known as LOREG. An irregularity does not automatically annul the vote: its relevance and actual impact on the result matter.

Once the corresponding operations are completed, the Electoral Board assigns the seats applying the rules of each Chamber, draws up the proclamation record, and issues credentials. In the Congress, proportional representation rules apply; in the Senate, its specific election rules.

The proclamation is official but subject to appeal. An official administrative result should not be confused with one that can no longer be judicially modified.

4. Judicial control of the results

Legitimized persons and candidacies can file an electoral contentious appeal against the proclamation. This allows discussing issues such as the validity of certain votes, the count, seat allocation, or relevant irregularities.

In general elections, these appeals correspond to the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court. The ruling can confirm, modify, or annul the proclamation as legally provided. Subsequently, there may be an amparo appeal before the Constitutional Court for violation of fundamental rights: this is not a new ordinary recount.

5. Official publicity and parliamentary constitution

The official publication of results serves a publicity function. The Official State Gazette (BOE) does not count votes nor proclaim elected candidates: these functions correspond to the electoral Administration, under judicial control.

Then comes the parliamentary phase. According to the Congress Regulations, the Chamber meets on the date and time set in the royal decree of convocation. In the constitutive session, the list of elected candidates and pending appeals are read, the Board is elected, and the oath or promise to uphold the Constitution is made.

To fully acquire the status of deputy, the electoral credential and declaration of activities must also be submitted. The Chamber can be constituted with pending appeals: a later ruling may modify its composition.

In summary: the provisional count informs; the general scrutiny verifies; the proclamation declares who has been elected; and the courts can review that declaration. The parliamentary constitution puts the new Chamber into operation without revalidating each vote.

The Prime Minister is a constitutional authority with powers to direct the Executive and responsibility before the Congress. The leader of the opposition, at the state level, is a political designation: it does not constitute an equivalent office with its own powers. Their legal faculties depend on the positions they hold, for example, as a deputy or parliamentary spokesperson.

1. Prime Minister: position and appointment

The fundamental regulation is found in articles 97 to 102 of the Constitution, in Law 50/1997, of the Government, and in the Congress Regulations. A distinction must be made between the powers of the Prime Minister and those of the Government as a collegiate body.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the king after obtaining the confidence of the Congress through the investiture. The candidate presents their program and needs an absolute majority in the first vote or a simple majority in a second vote held forty-eight hours later. If two months pass from the first vote without any candidate obtaining confidence, both chambers are dissolved and elections are called. The procedure is set out in articles 170 to 172 of the Congress Regulations.

2. Their main powers

• Direct and coordinate: directs the Government's action, coordinates the functions of its members, and represents the Executive. This position does not eliminate the own powers of each minister.
• Form the Government: chooses its members and proposes their appointment to the king, according to article 100 of the Constitution.
• Guide policy: directs the Executive which, according to article 97, leads domestic and foreign policy, civil and military administration, and state defense.
• Channel normative action: directs a Government that exercises executive function and regulatory power. This does not mean the Prime Minister can personally approve any norm: the powers of the Council of Ministers and ministers must be respected.
• Raise a vote of confidence: after deliberation of the Council of Ministers, can ask the Congress to confirm its support for its program or a general policy statement.
• Promote a consultative referendum: submits the proposal for convocation to the king, with prior authorization from the Congress.
• Appeal to the Constitutional Court: is legitimized to file unconstitutionality appeals.

Constitutional jurisprudence explains this presidential preeminence and distinguishes its faculties from those of the Government as a whole: Order 24/2017 and Judgment 110/2021.

3. Responsibility and continuity

The Government is subject to parliamentary control. The Congress can withdraw confidence through a constructive vote of no confidence: it must include an alternative candidate. When the Government ceases, it remains in office to ensure institutional continuity, with the limitations provided in article 21 of the Government Law. Being in office does not exempt it from parliamentary control, as noted in Judgment 124/2018.

4. Leader of the opposition: political functions, not own powers

This is usually identified as the leader of the main opposition party or group. The Congress Regulations do not establish a procedure for appointment or dismissal for this designation, nor specific powers, immunities, or remuneration.

Their political function consists of overseeing the Executive, offering an alternative, and negotiating agreements. Legally, questions, interpellations, bills, and other initiatives correspond to deputies and groups, according to their requirements. They also cannot present a motion of no confidence alone: it requires the signature of at least one-tenth of the Congress.

In short, presiding over the Government grants public powers; leading the opposition does not create them by itself. This conclusion refers to the state level, not to possible regional recognitions.

Investiture is not granted to a party or coalition, but to a person candidate for the Presidency of the Government, who must obtain the confidence of the Congress. The essential rule is to achieve an absolute majority in the first vote or a simple majority in a second vote held forty-eight hours later. Being the candidacy with the most electoral votes or seats does not replace that parliamentary support.

1. Proposal of candidacy and debate

The general procedure is articulated in article 99 of the Constitution and in articles 170 to 172 of the Congress Regulations. The King, after consulting with representatives designated by political groups with parliamentary representation, proposes a candidacy through the Presidency of the Congress. It is up to the Congress to grant or deny confidence: the royal proposal does not equate to appointment.

Upon receiving the proposal, the Presidency of the Congress convenes the Plenary. The session begins with its reading and then the candidate presents, without time limit, the political program of the Government they intend to form and requests the confidence of the Chamber.

Parliamentary groups that request it intervene for thirty minutes each. The candidacy can respond as many times as requested, with the reply turns provided by regulations. Therefore, agreements between parties can facilitate support but do not replace the debate or the vote.

2. Necessary majorities

• First vote: absolute majority. A favorable vote of more than half of the members of the Congress is required. It is not enough to obtain more favorable than opposing votes: that threshold must be reached over the entire Chamber.
• Second vote: simple majority. If the absolute majority is not obtained, another vote is held forty-eight hours later. Then it is enough that favorable votes exceed opposing votes. Abstentions are not added to either block; they can facilitate that affirmative votes are more numerous but do not equate to support.

Before the second vote, the candidate can intervene for ten minutes and each parliamentary group for five to set their position. These rules are in article 171 of the Regulations.

3. Guarantees of the vote

The investiture vote is always public by roll call: deputies are named, who respond "yes," "no," or "abstention." The vote is personal and non-delegable. Also, to validly adopt agreements, the Chamber must be duly convened and have the attendance of the majority of its members, according to articles 78, 79, 85, and 86.

4. If the candidacy does not obtain confidence

Failing in both votes does not immediately cause new elections. Article 172 allows successive proposals to be processed by the same procedure within the applicable time limit.

That limit is two months from the first investiture vote, not from the elections nor from the start of negotiations. Presenting new candidacies does not restart the count. If none obtains confidence within that period, the dissolution of the General Courts and the calling of elections proceed: the Presidency of the Congress submits the decree for the King's signature and communicates it to the Presidency of the Senate.

5. If the investiture succeeds

Once confidence is granted in either vote, the Presidency of the Congress communicates it to the King for the appointment as Prime Minister. Ultimately, what is legally decisive is not winning the elections nor formalizing a coalition, but completing the procedure and gathering the required parliamentary majority.